Better than ruling this world, better than attaining the realm of the gods, better than being lord of all the worlds, is one step taken on the path to nirvana.
-Dhammapada, vs. 178
Introduction
The goal of every human being alive today-whether they can articulate it or not-is to find within themselves a state of unconditional joy. Although this goal may appear to be illusive, the simple fact is that such a state exists within everyone, regardless of their physical, emotional, menor spiritual condition.
The state I'm speaking of is not something new waiting to be discovnor is it something that must be achieved through self-improvement or learned through a course of study. It is not reserved for the elect or for those who believe in some special doctrine. The state I'm speaking about exists a priori in the depths of each person. To actualize it, one must simbring it into conscious awareness by going within and allowing it to emerge and radiate through spirit, soul, intellect, and body.
Unfortunately, for the vast majority of people alive today the goal of unconditional joy seems an impossible one to achieve. For far too many people, the human condition is one of suffering, pain, confusion, lack of self-control, and spiritual emptiness.
Let me assure you from the start that the goal can be achieved! There has always been a way home to the Self, the reservoir of unconditional joy and bliss, which emerges from the center of each human being. Many people before you have found it.
The way home has never been a secret, though it is not an easy one to follow. It leads inward through the levels of body, soul, intellect, and spirto the source of unlimited energy and consciousness, the Self. Howevby far the greatest obstacle to the experience of the Self and union with it are the attachments to the world created by karmic baggage-the dense, qualified energy carried from one lifetime to another in the human energy field. Karmic baggage not only limits awareness by creatattachment to the external world of phenomena (maya), it disrupts the transmission and transmutation of unqualified energy (prana) through the higher and lower mind and the human energy system. Prana can be considered the life force. In the macrocosm it serves as the founof the phenomenal universe, and in the microcosm it serves as the foundation of the higher and lower mind and the human energy system. Once the natural transmission and transmutation of energy through the microcosm, the human energy field, has been disrupted by karmic bagaccess to pleasure, human love, intimacy, and joy-which emerge from the Self-will be restricted.
What is Karma?
To get a sense of how karmic baggage-in the form of dense, qualified energy-disrupts access to joy, intimacy, love, and pleasure, one must first know what karma is and how it functions. The ancient Sanskrit word karma comes from the root kri, to act, and it signifies an activity or action. Swami Shivananda declared that karma . . . is a universal law that keeps up the inner harmony and the logical order of the universe.
In the west, karma has been defined as . . . The cumulative effect of action. In a limited way this is true, although the great religions of the east go beyond this definition by describing karma in terms of both its structure and function. Jainism views karma as an aggregate of subtle matter that accumulates in the human energy system and veils the conof the Self and everything that emerges from it, including bliss, joy, love, and pleasure.
According to this ancient religion, which stresses aestheticism, nonand reverence for life, karma has eight functional aspects:
. Karma obscures comprehension. . Karma obscures awareness. . Karma produces counterfeit feelings (emotions and sensations).
. Karma deludes a person (veils the truth). . Karma is age determining. . Karma defines personality by creating personas. . Karma determines status and therefore psychic well-being.
. Karma disrupts personal power. The first four aspects are obstructive, the remaining four are not, although they are Self-limiting since they obstruct the flow of unqualified energy (prana) through the human energy system.
In Vedanta-which is the foundation of Yoga and Tantra-karma is broken down in three ways, based on its effects. Sancita karma is the residue of actions performed in either the present or previous lives, which have already come to fruition. A person has the free will to oversancita karma, which manifests in the form of karmic baggage and/or physical weakness or disability. Agami karma is potential karma from actions which can be avoided, even though a compelling pattern already exists. Prarabdha karma is the residue of actions taken in this life, which have not yet come to fruition. A person is powerless to avoid the consequences or karmic effects that have accrued from these actions, although an enlightened master, by virtue of his or her detachment, will be less affected or not affected at all.
To anyone with a minimum of discernment it is clear that karma is far more complex than the abstract principle that guarantees you will reap what you sow. Karma is a force of nature that manifests will and intent and can be both Self-limiting and obstructive. It connects to their causes the effects of actions on all interpenetrating worlds and dimensions. Through its ability to create attachment...(Continues)
